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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26485282">This Is Not Going to Go How You Think It Will</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ljrvs/pseuds/ownedbythestars'>ownedbythestars (ljrvs)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Linked by the Universe [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Character Study, Gen, Illegal Activities, Jessika Pava - Freeform, Jessika Pava has a Past, Jessika Pava is Snarky, Linked By The Universe, Lots of dialogue, Mentors, NRDF, New Republic Defense Fleet, One Shot, Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Racing, Series, Speeder Racing, Vignette, Wedge Antilles is Cool, poe dameron comics</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:54:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,411</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26485282</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ljrvs/pseuds/ownedbythestars</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jess scoffs. "Look, I don’t know who you are or what this is, and I don’t care. It’s whatever. I’ll pay my fine, spend a night in jail, and be on my way in the morning. Not sure why you’re here, but I know how this goes.”</p><p>“This is not going to go how you think it will," the man warns her.</p><p>“Oh really?”</p><p>“Really. Maybe you know how it usually goes, but you’ve ticked off the NRSF one to many times it seems. This time they’re ready to put you in prison.”</p><p>“So why are you here?” Jess slouches down in the chair, trying to look casual and uninterested.  </p><p>He smiles. “I’m here to give you a chance.”</p><p>---</p><p>Jess gets caught racing. It's happened before, she knows what to expect. But this time, things go differently and she gets a chance from Wedge Antilles for her life to be changed forever.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Wedge Antilles &amp; Jessika Pava</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Linked by the Universe [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1658350</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>This Is Not Going to Go How You Think It Will</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Part of my "Linked by the Universe" Series. AKA I read the entire Poe Dameron comic series in a 3 day period and decided that Jessika Pava needs more storytime. So I wrote it for her.</p><p>Mostly canon, but with some creative license. I added like, 2-3 months between TFA and TLJ. It's fine. But that doesn't even matter for this story because this is pre-Resistance.</p><p>Anything you think you recognize/think may have been stolen from another fandom, it's entirely possible. (Nothing stolen from other writers, though.) "Good writers borrow, great writers steal." -T.S. Eliot</p><p>Unbeta-ed, so if you see something, tell me. Or if you think I'm missing any tags, let me know. Kudos and comments adored!</p><p>(Jess is 19 in this story. And I treat datapads kinda like they're super tricked out cellphones.)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>Jess sighs. She’s not exactly <em>surprised </em>that things had gone down this way, but it’s also definitely not how she’d hoped for the day to end. Instead of being in her ship and headed towards an as of yet undetermined destination, she’s in a New Republic Security Station, orbiting above Cantonica, and currently locked in a cell with her hands in binders behind her.</p><p>This is her own fault, she knows. She’d gotten cocky and had drawn attention to herself at the race. The New Republic Security Force had evidentially picked up chatter about the race and were there to shut it down, catching her in their net.</p><p>She tilts her head back until it’s resting against the wall. No, this was decidedly not how she’d hoped this day would go. She should be halfway across the galaxy by now, but instead, she’s here. It’s disappointing, too, because the speeder she’d been racing lately had been choice. But the New Republic had seized it and she knows there’s no way in hell she’s getting it back. She’s tried before, but they’ve always been long gone before she’s been released from custody. <em>Oh well</em>, she thinks, <em>I’ll find a new one. A better one. </em></p><p>“Hey, lady racer,” a guard says. Jess looks at him but otherwise doesn’t answer. “On your feet.”</p><p>Jess raises her eyebrows, but doesn’t move to comply and keeps silent.</p><p>“Don’t make me come in there,” the guard threatens, “come on.”</p><p>Jess scoffs. She’s pretty sure that she could take this guy, even with her hands bound behind her back. But while on a New Republic Security ship that’s still in orbit? Her odds of getting away weren’t exactly great.</p><p>“Get on your feet,” the guard says again. “Don’t be stupid.”</p><p>Jess sighs and gets to her feet and walks to the cell door. The guard opens the door and lets her out, locking the cell behind her. He escorts Jess down the hall to the transport bay. Jess furrows her brow: this is new.</p><p>A transport pilot is waiting for them. The guard and pilot each press their thumb on the datapad before the guard shoves Jess forward to the pilot. The pilot takes Jess’s shoulder and brings her into the ship. She pushes Jess onto a bench seat and magnetizes the cuffs to the wall behind her.</p><p>Jess looks around. it’s a simple ship: one for transporting prisoners between surface and station. Not meant for any kind of significant distance or battle. <em>They’re taking me back to Cantonica,</em> she realizes. This is not at all how any of her previous arrests had gone. She leans her head back against the wall and watches the pilot maneuver the ship away from the Security Station and back towards the planet. She’s not much older than Jess—most likely a recent graduate from one of the New Republic Academies. And since she’s piloting a local transport, probably not a member of the Navy. No—this woman didn’t seem like the dogfighting type. It doesn’t seem like she has the nerve or the reflexes for that.</p><p>It’s a short flight—twenty minutes tops. Jess stays silent the whole way. The pilot releases Jess’s cuffs from the wall and escorts her out of the ship. They’re immediately met by another New Republic Security Force guard.</p><p>“She say anything?” the new guard asks as both he and the pilot scan their thumbprints on the datapad: handing off custody of Jess.</p><p>“Not a word,” the pilot answers and pushes Jess towards the man. He grabs Jess’s upper arm and pulls her out of the terminal.</p><p>The guard takes Jess to a speeder. “Get in,” he says gruffly, opening the door. Jess quirks her brow, but follows his instructions and sits in the back of the speeder. The guard closes the door and moves around to the pilot’s seat. He pulls away from the Landing Terminal and turns the speeder towards the city.</p><p>Jess looks around—he’s taking her into Canto Bight. And not the outskirts: he’s taking her to the city proper.</p><p>“Don’t know how you managed to pull this off. You’re just some no-name Outer Rim bush pilot,” he mutters as he maneuvers through the traffic. Jess looks towards him with raised brows but doesn’t break her silence. She rolls her eyes and looks back to the passing city.</p><p>The guard parks the speeder outside of one of the nicest and most expensive hotels in the city. He opens the door and gestures for Jess to exit. She steps out of the speeder and looks around incredulously. <em>No way this is right</em>, she thinks.</p><p>“Come on,” he says, turning her by the shoulder and bringing her into the hotel.</p><p>They take the turbolift to the top floor. When the door opens, the guard shoves her down the hall to the Northeast corner suite. Based on its position, Jess knows that this room has the best view of both the city and the sea and doesn’t come cheap. Whoever wants to see her had deep pockets or good connections. Jess isn’t sure which she’d prefer.</p><p>The guard knocks and a female guard opens the door, allowing them entry. The room inside is huge. It’s opulent with clean lines, white furniture, neutral wood, gold embellishments, and windows that run the entire length of the north and east walls. Jess can’t help but look around—she’s never been somewhere like this before. The two escort Jess to a plain chair facing a table. Another chair is across the table from her, empty for the moment. <em>So it’s an interrogation,</em> Jess thinks, <em>not sure what they think I know.</em> The guards uncuff her hands just long enough to attach a second set of cuffs and lock each wrist to an arm of the chair.</p><p>“Is that necessary?” a man asks. Jess looks up sharply: she hadn’t noticed him before. He’s older—with greying hair and skin that’s starting to wrinkle. But his compact frame is still fit and his brown eyes are still sharp.</p><p>“Standard procedure, sir,” the female guard says shortly.</p><p>“Cut the shit: we all know that there is no procedure for this. And she’s not going anywhere,” the man says with a chuckle.</p><p>“Then orders, sir,” the male guard says.</p><p>“Fine. Please wait outside,” the man tells the two guards.</p><p>“Not sure why you want to talk to her. Hasn’t said a thing since she was arrested,” the male guard mutters.</p><p>“Outside,” the man orders, leaving no room for argument. He sits across the table from Jess, a file in front of him, and waits for the guards to reluctantly show themselves out.</p><p>Now alone, Jess and the man sit quietly for a long while, considering each other.  </p><p>“What’s your name?” the man asks eventually. Jess doesn’t respond. The man grins. “I’m sorry. Maybe I should ask: what’s your <em>real </em>name?”</p><p>“What’s it to you?” Jess shoots back.</p><p>“So you do talk,” the man raises his eyebrows, but doesn’t seem upset at her attitude. “And I’m just asking. I know you were arrested for being in an illegal race earlier today, but somehow I doubt that—” he looks down at the file in front of him and chuckles, “<em>Skyy Walker</em> is actually your name. Though I like the reference. I assume it’s intentional?” He meets Jess’s gaze.</p><p>“Obviously,” Jess rolls her eyes. “Are we done here?”</p><p>“No,” the man says, looking back at his file.</p><p>“What do you care what I call myself?”</p><p>“I don’t really. I just think it’s an interesting choice of alias for an illegal racer on the Outer Rim.”</p><p>“I’ve heard worse.”</p><p>“I’ve heard better,” the man counters quickly with a gleam in his eye.</p><p>Jess considers the man: he’s clever and quick. Plus he has a sense of humor. She’s almost tempted to like him.</p><p>“Would you like something to drink?” he asks.</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Something to eat?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Anything to help you feel more comfortable?”</p><p>Jess lifts her hands as far as they’ll go from the armrests. “Little tied up here,” she snarks.</p><p>“Right, sorry about that.” The man gets to his feet and moves around the table. Jess tenses, but he smiles kindly and releases her wrists from the binders. “Not my call to put those things on you.”</p><p>Jess watches him suspiciously as he returns to his seat.</p><p>“Better?” he asks.</p><p>Jess scoffs. “Man, come on, what the kriff am I doing here?”</p><p>“Sorry! Just…trying to be welcoming,” the man says. He leans back in his chair and considers Jess. “We saw you racing today. Out in the canyons.”</p><p>“Did you now?” Jess asks, disinterested.</p><p>“We did. Impressive show.”</p><p>“And who is ‘we’? Or are you using the royal ‘we’?” Jess taunts.</p><p>“My wife and I.” His answers are straight forward and honest. It puts Jess on edge. Most people she deals with don't talk like that.</p><p>“And where is she now?”</p><p>“Emergency comm from her son. Big news on Hosnian Prime or something,” he waves it off.</p><p>Jess snorts derisively. “Well aren’t you a class act, taking your wife to a canyon race.”</p><p>“She’s a pilot. She knows what’s at risk.”</p><p>“And what’s a guy like you doing at some illegal race out in the boonies, anyway? Cause if you can afford this room, I’m sure you can afford better entertainment,” Jess continues skeptically.</p><p>“I was there to check out an ace pilot I’d heard rumors about,” Wedge says casually.</p><p>“And what did you think of them?”</p><p>“You’re good. Reckless. Dangerous. But<em>good</em>.”</p><p>“I’m who you were checking out? <em>Why?” </em></p><p>“Like I said—heard rumors. Wanted to see for myself.”</p><p>“And?”</p><p>“You’ve got a gift. You’re a talented racer.”</p><p>“And what did your wife think?”</p><p>“Norra thinks you’ve got an aptitude.”</p><p>“I’ve been doing it long enough.”</p><p>The man chuckles. “But I can’t help but wonder…why are you wasting your talent in illegal races?”</p><p>“What, you wanna sponsor me for the 5 Sabers? Seems like it could be in your price range, given…” she vaguely waves to the room around them.</p><p>“Not quite. You’re settling for being good when you could be great. I want to know why.”</p><p>“Who are you to say that?” Jess growls.</p><p>The man doesn’t respond. He begins flipping through the file, scanning each document before looking up and addressing Jess again. “You have an impressive record here, Miss Walker.”</p><p>“Do I now? I had no idea,” Jess replies drolly.</p><p>“This is your fifth time being caught in an illegal speeder race in the last two years.”</p><p>“Worse things have happened.” He wasn’t wrong: she had been caught before, but each time, everything had followed a specific order of events: she’d lost her speeder, paid a fee, spent a night or two in jail, been released, and had been at the next race with a new speeder, ready to go. She had anticipated this time wouldn’t have been any different, but it seems like it might be a little different.</p><p>“Seems a little high to me.”</p><p>“I’ve raced in 183 races in the last two years. Five times being caught is, what? Less than 2.75%. I’ll take those odds any day.” Jess runs the numbers in her head again. <em>2.73%. </em><em>S</em>he grins to herself.</p><p>The man pauses, curiosity in his eyes. “Did you just do that in your head on the fly?”</p><p>“Yeah, what of it?”</p><p>“Impressive, that’s all. Can you calculate a jump in your head, too?”</p><p>Jess scowls—it’s getting harder and harder to dislike this guy. “Of course. Look, I don’t know who you are or what this is, and I don’t care. It’s whatever. I’ll pay my fine, spend a night in jail, and be on my way in the morning. Not sure why you’re here, but I know how this goes. Not my first time.”</p><p>“This is not going to go how you think it will.”</p><p>“Oh really?”</p><p>“Really. Maybe you know how it usually goes, but you’ve ticked off the NRSF one to many times it seems. This time they’re ready to put you in prison.”</p><p>Jess shifts uncomfortably. <em>Ok, so this time is very different</em>, she thinks. The last thing she wants is to be back in a cell for any length of time.</p><p>The man catches the movement and smiles. Jess can’t tell if it’s sympathetic or mocking.</p><p>“Not such a fan of that idea?”</p><p>“Not really, no. How do you feel about being locked in a box?” Jess spits back.</p><p>“On the occasions I have been, I haven’t liked it much, either,” the man says. He rolls his shoulders as if in memory of the cramping he’d felt when restrained. <em>So the smile was sympathetic,</em> Jess decides.</p><p>“So why are you here?” Jess slouches down in the chair, trying to look casual and uninterested.  </p><p>“I’m here to help you. To give you a chance.”</p><p>Jess shakes her head. She doesn’t believe him—people don’t just help without an ulterior motive. And she’s never let anyone help her before—not when it hasn't been mutually beneficial. She won’t be in anyone’s debt. “I’m doing just fine, thanks.”</p><p>The man barks out an incredulous laugh. “Really now? This is fine?”</p><p>“Sure,” Jess shrugs. “I’ve gotten out of worse scrapes than this.”</p><p>The man smirks and leans back in his chair. “You sound like a smuggler I know. Well, what he sounded like back in the old days before he cleaned up his act.”</p><p> “Are you trying to insult me or compliment me?”</p><p>The man laughs again. “I like you, Miss Walker. You’ve got fire. And I know that ‘help’ probably isn’t something you’re used to, but I’d like you to hear me out.”</p><p>“What makes you say that it’s something I’m not used to and that it’s not that I just don’t like you?”</p><p>“Because I know what that tattoo is on your arm,” he nods to the dark ink on her right forearm. “Quick scan and I’d know everything about you.”</p><p>Jess subconsciously moves her hand to push her jacket sleeve down to cover the circular tattoo. “Not everything.”</p><p>“No,” the man agrees solemnly, “not everything.”</p><p>“What do you want from me?”</p><p>The man leans forward. All humor has left his face and has been replaced with concern. “Well first, I’ve gotta ask: are you being forced to do this by some slave master?”</p><p>“I got myself out a few years ago. Free-agent.”</p><p>“Care to tell me about it?”</p><p>Jess looks askance at him. “Not really.”</p><p>“That wasn’t a suggestion.”</p><p>Jess grits her teeth before speaking. “Fine. My family was captured when I was a kid.”</p><p>“Where from?” the man interrupts.</p><p>“Dandoran. The trader found out I had a gift for ships. Bounced around between owners for a bit until the last guy told me that I could buy my freedom for 5 million credits of race winnings. So I did. You’ve seen me race, you know I’m capable of that kind of winning. Any questions?”  </p><p>“No, no questions,” The man nods slowly. “At least not right now. Alright. Now listen, the New Republic Security Force has enough to send you to prison for three years. But I’m here to give you another option.”</p><p>“And that is?”</p><p>“The New Republic Defense Fleet Academy. It’d still be three years, but three years in a cockpit training to be a fighter pilot is very different than three years rotting in a cell.”</p><p>“Right. ‘Cause the NRDF will definitely want some criminal like me in their ranks,” Jess scoffs.</p><p>"You'd be surprised." The man says with shrug. “But if you're concerned, I’ll take care of it. No one will have to know.”</p><p>“How can you offer that? Who the hell are you, anyway?”</p><p>“Admiral Wedge Antilles.”</p><p>Jess raises a cynical eyebrow. “Wedge Antilles? Like the Wedge Antilles from the Rebellion? Wingman to Luke Skywalker? X-Wing pilot? Leader of Rogue and Phantom Squadrons?”</p><p>“So you’ve heard of me.”</p><p>“You’re him? Nerf shit.”</p><p>Wedge laughs. “Not sure how I can convince you it’s me.”</p><p>Jess sits up a bit straighter and considers the man in front of her. “Show me your chaincode ID.”</p><p>Wedge shrugs and pulls an ID out of his pocket. He scans it with his datapad and a holoimage flickers on, accompanied by lines of data. The image matches the man in front of her, and the data does say Wedge Antilles. <em>And </em>now that she thinks about it, he does look like an older version of the legendary pilot that Jess has seen in holoimages.</p><p>“How do I know this isn’t a fake?” Jess asks, still wary.</p><p>“My specialty is in a cockpit, not in tech,” Wedge says, pocketing the ID card and datapad. “But…you’re also going to have to show a modicum of trust that I am who I say I am.”</p><p>Jess appreciates his apparent honesty, but still narrows her eyes. Life has taught her to be cautious. “Ok, so let’s say you are really Wedge Antilles. What exactly is the offer: I sell myself to the NRDF for the rest of my life? No thanks.”</p><p>“Please,” he scoffs. “The NRDF doesn’t do indentureds or slaves. You’d come to Hosnian Prime and enroll as a cadet at the NRDF Academy. If you stay in good standing and finish the program through graduation, you’re cleared—your record will be gone. Once you graduate, you can join the NRDF as a pilot or go on your way.”</p><p>Jess can’t keep the skepticism off her face. “For real?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Wedge agrees, “for real.”</p><p>Jess shakes her head. “This has got to be a bad joke. Who put you up to this?”</p><p>Wedge frowns. “I don’t follow.”</p><p>“Look, no one in their right mind would give me a shot like that. It’s crazy.”</p><p>“This isn’t the first time I’ve been called crazy. Just ask my wife.”</p><p>Jess bites her lip and considers the man in front of her. “Why me?” she asks. “I’ve never heard of something like this happening before. And it’s not like I’m anyone special.”</p><p>“But you <em>are</em> someone special, Miss Walker. You have potential. The kind of potential that I’ve rarely seen in an untrained pilot.”</p><p>Jess looks sharply at him. “Untrained?”</p><p>Wedge holds his hands up placatingly. “I simply mean a pilot who hasn’t attended an official academy."</p><p>“Luke Skywalker didn’t attend an academy,” Jess counters.</p><p>Wedge grins. “Luke Skywalker is a Jedi, he doesn’t count. The Force gives him an unfair advantage.”</p><p>Jess looks away from Wedge and stares out over the sea. “What if I can’t do it?” she whispers. “What if I’m not as good as you think I am?” She looks up sharply, surprised with herself for saying those words out loud.</p><p>Wedge is equally surprised by the display of vulnerability from the young woman, but recovers quickly. “We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it,” he replies gently. “But I believe you can do this.”</p><p>“Really? You’re that sure?” Jess asks, her snide and confident persona back in place.</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“And this whole thing—the offer you’re making me and all…with my record, the education, the job: it’s legit?”</p><p>“Mmm-hmm.”</p><p>“What proof can you give me that this isn’t some trick?”</p><p>Wedge chuckles. “It’s gonna have to be a trust thing until we get to the Academy. But I give you my word: I’m not trying to harm you. I want what’s best for you.”</p><p>“No one wants that. No one cares that much about what happens to me. No one has for a while.”</p><p>“I do.”</p><p>“Why?” Jess asks and scrutinizes Wedge’s face.</p><p>Antilles shrugs and gives her a lopsided grin. “Because I care about people. Because life has dealt you a crap hand and I think you deserve a chance. And because I don't cut bait on people.”</p><p>Jess can’t help it: for some reason, she trusts him. She believes him. “If I say yes, what do you want from me?”</p><p>Wedge grins. “Let’s start with your <em>real </em>name. We’ll go from there.”</p><p>Jess hesitates as she weighs her options carefully before deciding that if this guy is in fact Wedge Antilles, he’s probably a better bet than going back with the New Republic Security Force, even if his offer isn’t all he’s made it out to be. “Jessika Pava. Jess for short,” she sighs. “Where do I sign up?”</p><p>“Cadet Pava,” Wedge smiles and offers his hand, “a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to the NRDF.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I was working on a chapter for "Make a Martyr Out of Me" and I got stuck, so I started writing this vignette to get my brain working again. Then I finished it and really liked it, so I decided to share it. But it also means "The Makings to be Outstanding" is about to get a bit of an update. This new update actually feels better to me, anyway, and explains Jess's attitude in that one a bit more. :)</p><p>BLOODLINE Spoiler! The Emergency Comm that Norra's on...yeah, that's from Snap, telling her about the bombshell from the Senate that Vader is Leia's father.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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